Nobody ever came out and said the Winnipeg Jets were a team with too many selfish players on their own agendas.

But judging by their recent turnaround, and the comments surrounding it, it’s safe to say that’s exactly what they were.

Selfishness can be subtle. It doesn’t always sit in its own corner wearing earbuds or search out the nearest TV camera to say, “Look at me!”

Sometimes it just doesn’t do the right things on the ice, the little things that might reduce the chance of scoring a pretty goal or picking up a nifty assist, but which help win a game.

It can keep one eye on its contract status, instead of both eyes on the team prize.

In going 7-2-1 over their last 10 games, the Jets have played some of the best and some of the worst hockey of their season.

Most importantly, it seems they’ve united under one banner.

“The focus has been more what’s better for the team,” Olli Jokinen was saying, Friday. “And that’s a good sign.”

Up and down the roster, from the goaltender on out, everybody sees it.

The results pop out in all kinds of places, too: on the penalty kill, the power play, the hit totals and the goals against.

That’s why when you ask what has turned the Jets ship around, there isn’t any one answer.

And yet there is.

“We’ve had a much better commitment from everybody, up and down the lineup, of committing to the team game,” Ron Hainsey said. “We’ve had everyone on the same page for a little while now...and it’s shown in our results.”

It took quite a wrestling match to get to this point. And it’s not like the fight ever really ends. Especially with a young team that’s never won anything, never learned where playing “the right way” can take you.

You have to keep a constant lookout for the problem to creep back in, even when it seems you’ve locked it out of the room.

Sometimes it appears you get rewarded for being selfish. The Jets have collected points in games they had no business being in. That can set the process back.

Last Sunday in New Jersey was a perfect example, as Winnipeg turned in one of its worst periods of hockey, the first, but still managed a point after a shootout loss.

Ondrej Pavelec points to that forgettable 20 minutes as something to remember.

“That changed everything,” the goalie said. “We just told ourself if we’re going to play like that, we have no chance.”

Since then, the Jets have given themselves more than a fighting chance.

The last two games, they’ve looked in control against teams higher in the standings.

And every time there is a reward for doing things right, the notion is reinforced.

“It becomes contagious when you have that success,” Andrew Ladd said.

Now it’s come to this: 21 games with another team agenda.

Over the final six weeks, the Jets will be playing not only for a playoff berth, but for the team to stay together.

Winnipeg is among the NHL leaders in pending free agents, with 16 on today’s roster. Only 10 players are signed for next season.

It’s safe to say the number returning will be directly proportional to the amount of success the team enjoys.

“Absolutely,” Jokinen said. “If you win, everybody’s happy and you keep the team together.”

Another truism: the amount of team success will be indirectly proportional to the number of players worrying about their next contracts.

“It seems like a lot of guys are up this year,” Zach Bogosian, who’s one of them, acknowledged. “But that’s not even something we’re thinking about. That’s how we’ve got to go about business around here.”